tundra

noun

ˈtən-drə How to pronounce tundra (audio)
Definition of tundranext
as in prairie
a broad area of level or rolling treeless country a report on the arctic tundra of Alaska and the polar bears that inhabit that vast, frozen plain

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tundra Around the dozens of containers that make Toolik the US’s largest research station in the Arctic, musk ox and caribou graze on dwarf birches and fragrant labrador tea, while Arctic ground squirrels pop out of their burrows to survey the tundra. — Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026 By land, the trip is possible for only a few weeks each winter, when the swampy tundra freezes hard enough to construct a temporary road. — IEEE Spectrum, 30 July 2026 Up here, on the tundra of Alaska’s North Slope, the summer sun dances in an unending ellipse. — Jordan McGillis, Washington Post, 18 July 2026 Its engineers pulled crude from beneath deserts, oceans and frozen tundra. — Mia Gindis, Fortune, 9 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for tundra
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tundra
  1. prairie
  2. steppe
  3. plain
  4. grassland
  5. savanna
Noun
  • In place of herds of bison thundering across the prairie, there were piles of bones a story high and as much as a hundred feet long.
    — Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
  • On her 43 acres of woods and reclaimed native prairie in rural Tazewell County, Katie VandenBerg walked the edge of her property, inspecting a line of oaks bordered by miles of corn and soybean fields.
    — Christiana Freitag, Chicago Tribune, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of prairie
Noun
  • The desire to see Russia as singularly the product of its steppe heritage ends up distorting and simplifying this history.
    — Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The unification of the Eurasian steppes under Genghis Khan and his successors—Ögödei, Möngke, and Kublai Khan—brought many of these trade routes under a single political authority for the first time.
    — Ethan Teekah, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of steppe
Noun
  • That’s what pulled me to the plains of north-central Spain last week.
    — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Harry and Meghan’s children even chose the color of their elephants’ collars, which will help the organization track them across the plains of northern Botswana.
    — Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of plain
Noun
  • Rather than building on barren deserts, developers often claimed rich grasslands and farms, replacing vital bird habitats with concrete and glass.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Towering mountains, gnarly canyons, expansive grasslands and deep forests.
    — Ron Spomer, Outdoor Life, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of grassland
Noun
  • With a glorious mane of glowing purple gas and dust, the Lion Nebula sparkles on the cosmic savanna in this new image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.
    — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 11 Aug. 2026
  • And South Sudan's first World Heritage site, the Boma–Badingilo Migratory Landscape, protects a vast sweep of savanna, wetlands, and floodplains crossed by one of the world's largest terrestrial mammal migrations.
    — Bailey Berg, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of savanna

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tundras
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Cite this Entry

“Tundra.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tundra. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on tundra

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about tundra

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